Liquidity is the capacity to transact without substantially moving the price. A lively-looking screen can still have a shallow order book: the best displayed quote may be available for only a small amount. The next order may sit far away, increasing the effective cost of entering or leaving.
What to inspect in an order book
Look at the price difference between the best buyer and seller, the amount available at each level and recent matched volume, if the operator publishes it. A wide spread or small depth matters particularly near a deadline, when an exit can become difficult. “Can close early” is a feature description, not a promise of a counterparty.
Settlement is a rule, not a headline
Markets can resolve using an official publication, a specified announcement or another named source. The rules should say which date and time count, what happens on a postponement and how ambiguous outcomes are decided. Compare the same headline across two venues and you may discover that the underlying questions differ.
Disputes and exceptional events
Operators may have separate processes for cancellations, corrections, market pauses or contested settlements. Read those policies before drawing a conclusion from a headline. If an outcome source is revised after settlement, the operator’s terms, not an external commentator, determine what happens. Our how markets work guide covers the complete journey from order to resolution.
What volume can conceal
A large turnover headline is not a guarantee of deep, independent trading. Our wash-trading evidence note explains an algorithmic estimate of artificial activity in historic Polymarket data; the volume series explains how turnover is counted.